§ Mr. Bowdenasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement on the entitlement to pension of war widows whose husbands were receiving constant atttendance allowance at the part-day rate.
§ Mr. Carter-Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement on the entitlement to pension of war widows whose husbands, at the time of their deaths, were receiving constant attendance allowance at the part-day rate.
§ Mr. Alfred MorrisI am very pleased to be able to announce that, from November, a war widows' pension will be awarded in all cases where the war pensioner was in receipt of constant attendance allowance at the part-day rate when he died. At present this automatic entitlement is limited to the widows of war pensioners who were receiving the allowance at the full-day or higher rate. I estimate that a further 1,350 war566W widows will qualify from November and that another 70 to 80 widows will qualify each year thereafter. The increase for such widows who now receive only the standard national insurance widow's pension will be £5.80 a week. Many will, however, qualify for the age allowances payable to war widows over 65 and will receive a bigger increase. In the case of war widows aged over 70, the benefit from this amount will be more than £10 a week. I am writing to the major ex-Service organisations today to inform them of this new provision.